Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Decreased by SlateStone Wealth LLC

Key Points

• SlateStone Wealth LLC has reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 10.5%, owning 8,955 shares valued at approximately $4.59 million after selling 1,052 shares.
• In the latest earnings report, Northrop Grumman exceeded analysts' expectations with earnings of $7.11 per share and a revenue of $10.35 billion, marking a 1.3% year-over-year increase.
• Northrop Grumman's board declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, representing an increase from the previous $2.06 dividend, reflecting a strong financial position.

SlateStone Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,955 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,510,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 150,960 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $70,844,000 after buying an additional 57,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NOC traded up $10.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $587.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,006,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 778,934. The stock has a market cap of $84.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.47. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $587.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.06%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.